SOTHEBY’S ‘WEEKEND OF WHISKY’ IN LONDON THIS NOVEMBER
Two-Day Sales Series Features:
The Most Valuable Collection of Japanese Whisky Ever Offered at Auction,
A Bottle Containing the World’s Most Valuable Whisky: The Macallan 1926,
&
Select Bottles from the Collection of Visionary Epicurean and Aesthete, Pierre Chen
The Macallan to Host Pop-up Bar in Sotheby’s New Bond Street Galleries
AUCTIONS: Friday 17 & Saturday 18 November
1 NOVEMBER 2023 – This autumn, Sotheby’s will present ‘The Weekend of Whisky’, a two-day event taking place on 17 and 18 November in London. The sales series will feature the world’s most valuable whisky, a bottle of The Macallan 1926, featuring the Valerio Adami label; select bottles from the legendary collection of visionary epicurean and aesthete, Pierre Chen; and the most valuable Japanese whisky collection ever to come to auction. The Macallan will be hosting a pop-up bar in Sotheby’s New Bond Street galleries for the occasion, by invitation only. Highlights from both sales will be on public exhibition from 14 to 18 November.
KODAWARI | The Greatest Japanese Whisky Collection, 17 November
“To oversee the sale of the most valuable collection of Japanese whisky ever offered at auction is truly a privilege as a real whisky lover. To have assembled this many magnificent and frankly iconic bottles into a single collection is staggering and tells a story not only of one collector’s passion and dedication over many years, but also of the rising popularity of the Japanese whisky category as a whole.”
James Gray, Sotheby’s Whisky Specialist
Karuizawa 52 Year Old Cask #5627 1960, est. £260,000-350,000
This year, 2023, marks the centenary of Japanese whisky – a spirit that 100 years ago was forged in the footprint of Scotch whisky, but nowadays very much has a unique standing in the whisky collecting world. With a combined estimate of £1.6 – 2.1 million, KODAWARI | The Greatest Japanese Whisky Collection is the most valuable collection of Japanese whisky ever offered at auction, predominantly made up of single cask releases from the closed distillery Karuizawa, many of which rarely come to auction.
The sale has been made possible by one collector’s foresight for the potential of Japanese whisky. Not only did the collector manage to obtain some of the rarest whiskies ever produced, he is also in the unique position of having tasted almost every single one of them, including the Karuizawa 1960. His passion overwhelmed any sense of trepidation when building the collection – when he began his foray into Japanese whisky, interest in the category outside of Asia was fairly non-existent, which is surprising given the exceptional quality of much of the malt whisky being produced in Japan. Although a ‘hidden gem’ in the West at the time, Japanese whisky was still fairly accessible. By the early 2010s, the whiskies had begun to appear regularly in Europe and the collector – a true enthusiast – started to swap and trade bottles with other like-minded individuals around the world to ensure his collection was as comprehensive as possible.
The KODAWARI collector said: “When I started collecting just over two decades ago, nobody really knew much about Japanese whisky. I just liked the story and iconography, not to mention the taste! It wasn’t at all popular in the West at that time, so it was relatively easy to collect. Nowadays, rare bottles are extremely difficult to find. The bottles I’m selling at Sotheby’s are a relatively small proportion of my collection. I probably won’t be able to drink all of them within my lifetime. I want these rare bottles to be shared with and enjoyed by other collectors. This year we celebrate 100 years of Japanese whisky, so it feels like a landmark moment for these whiskies and for me in my time of collecting.”
Headlining the collection is a bottle of Karuizawa 1960 (est. £260,000-350,000) – a 52 Year Old whisky from Cask #5627 that holds a special place in the world of whisky collecting.
Further highlights include:
- Karuizawa 50 Year Old LMDW Japonisme Casks 1965 (est. £30,000-40,000)
- Karuizawa Noh 41 Year Old Cask #1842 1971 (est. £26,000-35,000)
- Karuizawa 50 Year Old LMDW Sherry Cask #2372 1965 (est. £24,000-32,000 per lot)
- Karuizawa 50 Year Old LMDW Bourbon Cask #8636 1965 (est. £20,000-26,000 per lot)
- Karuizawa Vintage Cask #6426 1967 (est. £15,000-20,000 per lot)
- Karuizawa Golden Dragon 40 Year Old Cask #8833 1972 (est. £12,000-15,000 per lot)
- Karuizawa Geisha Cask #6227 1970 (est. £10,000-14,000)
- Karuizawa Sakura Single Cask #158 1981 (est. £10,000-13,000 per lot)
- Yamazaki 25 Year Old Suntory Pure Malt 2002 Release (est. £8,000-12,000)
The World’s Most Valuable Whisky + The Epicurean’s Atlas, 18 November
The Macallan 1926 has always been recognised as the most sought-after Scotch whisky, as illustrated by the sum of £1.5m ($1.9m) achieved by Sotheby’s in 2019, for the Fine & Rare version, which set a new auction record for any bottle of wine or spirit. After being aged in sherry casks for six decades, just 40 bottles of The Macallan 1926 were bottled in 1986, representing the oldest Macallan vintage ever produced. The offering of a bottle of The Macallan 1926 featuring the Valerio Adami label, estimated at £750,000-1,200,000, marks the first time one of the 40 bottles has come to auction at Sotheby’s since the current record was set.
Distinguishing this offering even further is the fact that this is the first bottle to have undergone reconditioning by The Macallan Distillery ahead of being presented at auction. This process involved replacing both the capsule and the cork, applying new glue to the corners of the bottle labels and taking a 1ml liquid sample to test against another 1926 bottle at The Macallan’s Edrington offices in Glasgow. The Macallan 1926 bottle to be offered by Sotheby’s is now the foundation for all other 1926 bottles that may undergo testing in the future. In order to recondition the capsule, a sample swatch of the old capsule was used as a material match by a producer in Austria to recreate a replica replacement matching the original. (More details here.)The Macallan 1926 will take star billing in a sale of whiskies led by bottles produced by The Macallan Distillery. The auction will also feature select bottles from the legendary cellar of visionary epicurean and aesthete Pierre Chen, as a curtain-raiser to the first of five dedicated auctions in leading locations around the world – beginning in November 2023 through to November 2024 – of 25,000 bottles of wine from Chen’s vast collection (more details here).Selection of The Macallan lots from the collection of Pierre Chen
The 16 lots on offer from Pierre Chen’s collection, carrying a combined estimated value in excess of £500,000, include:
-
- The Macallan The Red Collection 77 Year Old (est. £65,000-80,000)
- The Macallan in Lalique Genesis Decanter (est. £55,000-70,000) – amongst the oldest ever Macallan single malts to be released by the distillery
- All six editions of The Macallan in Lalique Six Pillars Collection (estimates start at £38,000), an exclusive series of limited-edition decanters which were released over a decade, between 2005 and 2016
- Tales of The Macallan Volume I, the first edition in a series of single malt whiskies that pay tribute to The Macallan pioneers and their stories; encased in a Lalique crystal decanter, the rare whisky distilled in 1950 and bottled in 2021 is concealed within an 800-page almanac (est. £55,000-80,000)
- A range of bottles from the Fine and Rare series (estimates start at £16,000)
About Sotheby’s
Established in 1744, Sotheby’s is the world’s premier destination for art and luxury. Sotheby’s promotes access to and ownership of exceptional art and luxury objects through auctions and buy-now channels including private sales, e-commerce and retail. Our trusted global marketplace is supported by an industry-leading technology platform and a network of specialists spanning 40 countries and 70 categories which include Contemporary Art, Modern and Impressionist Art, Old Masters, Chinese Works of Art, Jewelry, Watches, Wine and Spirits, and Design, as well as collectible cars and real estate. Sotheby’s believes in the transformative power of art and culture and is committed to making our industries more inclusive, sustainable and collaborative.
*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium or overhead premium. Prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium and overhead premium and are net of any fees paid to the purchaser where the purchaser provided an irrevocable bid.
